Mask De Masculine (Bazz-Beatz)
Mask De Masculine (マスク・ド・マスキュリン, Masuku Do Masukyurin) is an Echt Quincy and a member of the Wandenreich's Sternritter with the designation “I” for “The Idol”. A self proclaimed "hero of justice", Mask De Masculine is a highly delusional Quincy who believes his actions are filled with valor and bravery, and is tasked by His Majesty, Yhwach, to root out the "evil" Shinigami through his power. He’s usually seen partnered with the other physical powerhouse, Driscoll Berci, with the duo being a frightening force of destruction once they are set loose amongst their prey. Mask De Masculine can also be seen in the company of James, who considers himself Mask's number one fan and also helps in stimulating Mask's Schrift during battles. Appearance Mask De Masculine is an older Quincy of Mexican decent and possesses a very large, muscular build similar to Driscoll Berci. Covering the top half of his head is a white luchador's mask with black trimming exposing his eyes, nose and lower half of his face, and a large black star printed on the forehead. What is revealed shows that he has mildly tanned skin, yellow eyes, rectangular shaped head and cleft chin, while most of his face is obscured by his signature mask. Peeking out of his mask is a thick white mustache that flares upward at the ends. He wears the standard Sternritter uniform with a white, ankle-length cloak with a high collar over their uniform which features the Wandenreich insignia emblazoned on the back, and a black bowtie. In addition, he wears a wrestling champion's belt with a large round buckle rather than the standard Wandenreich belt buckle that bears the Wandenreich insignia on it, and a pair black wresting boots with white laces. Personality Mask De Masculine views himself as a righteous and valorous man who upholds his belief in justice, which can be interpreted as vengeance against the Shinigami for the massacre of the Quincy 200 years ago. He's very arrogant and overconfident towards his opponents, referring to them as villains and cowards, and that he will eradicate the "evil" of the world. His actions, words and expressions are often comical in appearance, exaggerating them to dramatic levels, and the way he presents things are as though he were wrestling in front of an audience. With a boisterous demeanor, he is fond of striking "macho" poses after grandstanding speeches or proclamation of victory, flexing and stretching his muscles, and speaks as an entertainer or professional wrestler, even going as far as having James following him around with a wrestler's bell to declare when a match is about to begin. He also appears to be very vain since he's disappointed when there isn't anyone to witness his battles and power. Hence why James accompanies him at all times. For all his grandstanding and sensationalism, Mask De Masculine is a highly dull and absentminded man who often neglects the "daten" given to him. When he fought against Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai, he had no knowledge to the fact that Renji could perform Bankai, believing only a captain was able to perform such a feat, even when Äs Nödt chastised him for this neglect. He cares very much about his friends and fans, and shows enormous rage when they are attacked because they were supporting him. However, that did not stop him from ignoring the fact that James, his fan, was within the blast radius of his Star Flash Supernova as it blew him away in his attempt to kill Renji, arrogantly reminding him that as long as he breathes, James will continue to revive. Despite his claims of being a "hero" and fighting for justice, Mask De Masculine abandons that pretense when he suffers a major injury or when faced with the possibility of defeat. This marks a drastic change in his personality where he begins swearing and cursing at his opponents, becoming hysterical the more his foes berate him and think of him as being weak. Plot The Thousand-Year Blood War Upon receiving the orders of Yhwach, Mask and the other Sternritter gather at the Gate of the Sun before traveling to the Seireitei in order to participate in the conquest of Soul Society. Originally, Mask had arrived alongside Driscoll Berci near the 9th Division barracks. There, he and Driscoll faced off against the numerous soldiers that flooded out to intercept them. Mask, overjoyed at the prospect of facing its captain, was suddenly ordered by Driscoll to leave the area so Driscoll could face Kensei Muguruma alone. Confident in the other's ability, as well as citing how excessive it would be for two powerful Sternritter to take on a single captain, Mask left the 9th Division to find more suitable opponents. During his travel through Seireitei, he intercepted 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai's attempts to attack Äs Nödt. When Äs' hand is severely cut by 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, Mask berates his ally, only to be knocked down by Byakuya. As the battle between Äs, Byakuya, and Renji continues, Mask once again stops Renji from attacking, this time damaging his Shikai, when the lieutenant tries to activate his Bankai. Criticizing him for doing so, Äs states he could have stolen Renji's Bankai. Mask is surprised, saying that he thought only captains had Bankai, and Äs tells him to review the Daten they were given. Later, when Ichigo Kurosaki arrives in Soul Society, Mask is surprised when his Reiatsu abruptly vanishes. Later, Mask is present when Yhwach declares Uryū Ishida to be his successor, surprising him. Afterwards, Mask, BG9, Cang Du and Bazz-B discuss the news, and Mask questions Bazz-B's request for an explanation. When Bazz-B leaps away, Mask asks him where he is going. When Bazz-B tells him he is going to Yhwach's chambers to protest, Mask tells him to stop and states Yhwach will not forgive Bazz-B if he does this. Later, during the Wandenreich's second invasion of the Seireitei, 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame, 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa, and 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi discuss the events surrounding the invasion, when Mask attacks them from above. After elbow-smashing Ikkaku, Yumichika and Hisagi into the ground, Mask strikes a victory pose as a small man named James rings a bell. Noting they finished off almost all of the captain-level Shinigami they found, Mask proclaims it is sad to win without an audience. A light appears in the sky, and Mask wonders what it is as Renji and 13th Division Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki enter the Seireitei. At James' recommendation, he attempts to rush to the landing zone to figure out what's going on. Hisagi tries to stop him, but is knocked down. As Mask attempts to stomp on Hisagi with his foot, 9th Division Captain Kensei Muguruma appears and interrupts him. Mask tries to justify leaving the battle, but then realizes 9th Division co-lieutenant Mashiro Kuna is also present. Fights & Battles * Rage at Ringside (Bazz-Beatz) Equipment Sanrei Belt: Mask wears a belt with the buckle bearing the Wandenreich pentagram. Uniquely, this serves the same function as a Sanrei Glove: once released, this allows Mask to activate Quincy: Vollständig as long as he is not in possession of a Shinigami's Bankai. Powers & Abilities Enhanced Strength: Mask has proven to be an incredibly strong man who utilizes his strength to overpower most of his opponents with a single attack. When 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai attempted to activate his Bankai in retaliation for seeing Äs Nödt nearly kill Byakyua Kuchiki, Mask grabbed Zabimaru barehanded and performed a dropkick powerful enough that it sent Renji flying across the Seireitei, broke Zabimaru into pieces and incapacitated the lieutenant. Renji's body left a large trail as it traveled just from the force of this single attack. His strength also allowed him to overpower 3 strong lieutenant-level Shinigami with assistance from James and his cheering. When Hisagi attempted to prevent Mask from leaving using Kazeshini, the Quincy grabbed the chain and yanked it to send the lieutenant into Mask, who then clotheslined him to the ground and incapacitated him. Enhanced Agility: Despite being a large Quincy, Mask De Masculine has proven himself to be deceptively agile and regularly attacks his opponents through surprise aerial maneuvers. When he first encountered Renji during the first invasion, he was able to catch the seasoned lieutenant offgaurd. Later, he used the same acrobatic stealth tactic to quickly defeat 3 lieutenant level Shinigami. Mask combines his athleticism with his fighting style to launch a series of acrobatic wrestling techniques. Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Mask proves to be a Lucha Libre aficionado, being so immersed with his fictitious persona that he has created that he's tailored his uniform to incorporate wrestling boots, champion's belt and lucha libre mask. His fighting style is that of a professional wrestler, regularly using techniques such as: clotheslines, dropkicks, knee strikes, elbow slams and power slams. His displays incredible confidence in his fighting ability and uses his style as his sole means of battling. Additionally, Mask is proficient enough to have created his own unarmed fighting techniques, though their simplicity is often overlooked by the theatrics Mask performs when executing them: *'Star Eagle Kick' (スター・イーグルキック, Sutā Īgurukikku): Mask launches himself into the air and delivers a powerful knee strike aimed at his opponent's stomach or head. The damage proves strong enough to send the opponent flying backwards and crash back to the ground. Though appearing as a regular knee strike, Mask often embellishes this fact by making bold declarations before he launches himself and also follows up with another attack to keep the momentum going in his favor. *'Star Headbutt' (スター・ヘッドバット, Sutā Heddobatto): Usually followed by the Star Eagle Kick, Mask grabs his opponent's head and rams his forehead into theirs. This attack has enough power to stagger an opponent and even disorient them momentarily. Again, this technique appears as a simple wrestling maneuver that is simply heightened by the theatrics of Mask when he performs it. *'Star Rocket Headbutt' (スター・ロケット・ヘッドバット, Sutā Roketto Heddobatto): An even more powerful version of the Star Headbutt that involves Mask using his entire body like a missile. Mask propels himself towards his opponent and rams into them headfirst. The sheer force of the attack is enough to carry the opponent with him as he flies and slamming them through whatever is behind them. Even if Mask were to miss this attack, it possesses enough power to create a massive explosion on impact. *'Star Dropkick' (スター・ドロップキック, Sutā Doroppukikku): First used during his encounter with Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki, Mask uses impressive athleticism to leap into the air and bring both feet together and propel them into his target in the form a of a powerful dropkick with enough force to knock them through several buildings. The attack was enough to completely incapacitate Renji in a single hit, and leave him with life threatening injuries. He later used this technique when fighting against Kensei Muguruma but its damage was negated due to the captain's Bankai. Reishi Manipulation: As a Quincy, Mask primarily absorbs spiritual energy from the atmosphere and combines it with his own spiritual energy to form weapons. He has an easier time collecting this energy in environments with higher concentrations of Reishi, such as Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. It is unknown the level in which he absorbs Reishi, but given his status as Sternritter and member of Yhwach's army Mask's skill must be above average class individuals. While he does not apply reishi manipulation to create a weapon, Mask is proficient enough to use it to increase his speed, strength and durability. *'Hirenkyaku' (飛廉脚, "Flying Screen Step/God Step"; Viz: "Flying Bamboo-Blind Leg"): An advanced Quincy movement technique, allowing the user to move at high speed by riding on the flow of Reishi created below their feet. Essentially, it is the Quincy equivalent to the Shinigami's Shunpo and the Arrancar's Sonído. To perform this technique, the user gathers Reishi under their feet and rides them to the desired location. Hirenkyaku enables Quincy to keep up with and overpower faster opponents depending on the user's skill. Mask is deceptively fast for his size and build, repeatedly catching Renji off-guard during their battle and leaving him very little time to react to his attacks. *'Blut' (血装 (ブルート), burūto; German for "Blood", Japanese for "Blood Guise"): A Quincy ability that gives one inhuman defensive & offensive capability. By making Reishi flow directly into their blood vessels, users of this technique can drastically increase their attack and defense power to inhuman levels. However, despite the significant danger this potentially presents to one's opponents, Blut possesses one major flaw: because the independent forms of the technique for attack and defense operate using two different Reishi systems, they cannot be employed simultaneously. As an Echt Quincy, Mask is able to naturally wield Blut and both its variations to aid him during battle against Hollows, Arrancar and Shinigami. **'Blut Vene' (静血装 (ブルート・ヴェーネ), burūto vēne; German for "Blood Vein", Japanese for "Stilled Blood Guise"): The defensive form of Blut, which grants the user inhuman durability, is represented by a faint pattern tracing the veins beneath the surface of their skin, which is only visible on the afflicted area when struck. If consciously kept at full power, even attacks delivered by a Shinigami's Bankai can potentially be negated completely. However, despite the considerable defense afforded by this technique, it is seemingly not absolute, and can be torn using sufficient power. Additionally, Blut Vene can be used to aid the user against critical wounds which have already been inflicted by stopping the severe loss of blood which would result from said wound. Mask was seen grabbing Renji's released Zanpakutō without sustaining injury and emerging from the pit he fell into with only minor scratches. **'Blut Arterie' (動血装 (ブルート・アルテリエ), burūto aruterie; German for "Blood Artery", Japanese for "Moving Blood Guise"): The offensive form of Blut which grants the user inhuman attack power. This technique is the only thing capable of ensuring a Quincy's attacks can significantly damage a Bankai-wielding Shinigami. Great Spiritual Power: Mask's spiritual power is on a level comparable to or greater than that of a captain-level Shinigami. It is so great that he was able to overpower Renji during their first bout and swiftly defeat 3 lieutenants during the second Quincy invasion. It was later seen on a level comparable to that of a Visored Captain, whose dual spiritual type was noted as being higher than average. When using his Schrift, Mask's spiritual pressure increases with the more cheers he receives, granting a tremendous boost to his other stats, and when activating his Vollständig: Zazriel, it is described as being "monstrous" to the point that he could battle evenly with a Kensei Muguruma in Bankai and wearing his Hollow mask. Unfortunately, because cheering causes his spiritual power to fluctuate it is uncertain what is his exact level of power. He was seen able to fight on par with Renji Abarai without James present to increase his power, but then defeat 3 high ranking lieutenant level Shinigami when it is uncertain if Mask was under the effects of his Schrift. Schrift The Idol (英雄 (ザ・アイドル), Za Aidoru; German and Japanese for "Hero"): Uniquely, Mask De Masculine and Driscoll Berci are the only Sternritters who's Schrifts rely entirely on an outside source to activate and is not manifested internally without aid. As such, James proves to be an invaluable resource for Mask and accompanies wherever he goes. Whenever an individual cheers for Mask, he gains a considerable amount of zeal, stamina, and strength that places him in the same league as a strong Visored captain wielding Bankai and wearing his Hollow mask. The power also allows him to regenerate from damage, though the only times this effect has been witnessed it was to repair surface wounds and minor injuries. After receiving enough cheers, Mask is able to power up to a new form that also alters his appearance. In this fully powered-up state, Mask's mask changes to a black version with a stylized black and white star pattern and most of his clothes disappear, torn apart during the transformation. Leaving him only wearing black gloves and boots, wrestling shorts and a champion's belt with the Quincy star emblazoned on it, and black stars that cover his nipples. Its also revealed that he has thick chest hair styled in another star. This ability also links Mask's supporters to him, allowing James to be revived infinitely so long as Mask himself lives. *'Star Flash' (スター・フラッシュ, Sutā Furasshu): To prepare this attack, Mask raises both hands and puts his index and middle fingers to the points of the star on his mask. The star will then glow brightly and when ready, Mask fires a star-shaped beam from his forehead which is powerful enough to easily pierce through large structures, causing them to detonate from the resulting damage, and displayed confidence in its ability to kill a captain-level Shinigami. It appears that Mask can fire these beams with little charge time and quickly after one another. *'Star Satsujin Punch' (スター殺人パンチ, Sutā Satsujin Panchi; lit. "Star Murder Punch"): When Mask is enraged at the possibility of defeat or facing an opponent he truly views as evil, Mask can summon a star-shaped black brand on the back of his fist to augment the power of his attacks. While he has this brand, his punches become ten times more powerful than usual, releasing star-shaped bursts of energy on impact. Mask refers to it as the "hammer of justice". *'Star Lariat' (スター・ラリアット, Sutā Rariatto): Upon transforming to his highest form using his Schrift due to James' empowering cheers, Mask can access a powerful technique, which he claims can punch an opponent one mile away from the sheer force behind them. As such, he claims "the people" call this technique "One Mile Arts" (ワン・マイル・アーツ, Wan Mairu Ātsu). A single attack was enough to send a captain-level opponent into the air and through buildings standing in his path as he traveled. He can then unleash this technique in rapid succession to overwhelm opponents, destroying the area around them in the process as he continues to bombard them with these attacks. Quincy: Vollständig Zazriel (神の強さ(ザズライル), Zazurairu; Japanese for "Strength of God") Mask De Masculine's Vollständig can only be activated once he has been fully charged the cheers of James through his Schrift. This means that his transformation is partially attained through this method before he gains the full power of Zazriel. When activating Zazriel, Mask absorbs a large of Reishi nearby and forms it into a long flowing cape of white energy that doubles as the wings associated with a Vollständig release. A pair of smaller wings also form chest above his chest connecting across his collar bone. He also gains a large five point star that represents his halo. The Quincy pentagram on his wrestling belt also burns much larger and brighter while he uses Zazriel. While in this form, Mask's spiritual power increased to the point that he could push both Kensei Muguruma in Bankai wearing his Hollow Mask and Mashiro Kuna wearing her Hollow mask simultaneously in battle. *'Flight:' The wings given to a Quincy while in Vollständig are not for mere decoration. The cape Mask's gains while in Zazriel grants him the ability of flight and he can do so with incredible speed. When he uses these wings to travel, he leaves behind a trail of Reishi and he's known to be able to make quick and tight turns without issue. Mask proves capable enough to maneuver himself out of the path of fast moving projectiles with little difficulty and even utilizes the trail he creates to summon a strong technique only accessible while in this form. Mask can both fly through the air or simply float in a single location thanks to the wings he gains. *'Star Flash: Super Nova' (スター・フラッシュ: スーパー・ノヴァ, Sutā Furasshu: Sūpā Nova): It appears that Star Flash: Super Nova requires some preparation before Mask is able to utilize it to its full effect. To use this technique, Mask flies high into the sky and traces out a giant pentagram shape using the Reishi trail from his wings. Mask then flies above the pentagram and calls out the name of the attack while extending both his arms and legs out. The entire pentagram illuminates and releases a massive star-shaped blast of energy that crashes into the ground, creating an immense explosion upon impact and leaving behind a star-shaped crater the size of several city blocks. This is Mask's most powerful attack and its full power is capable to vaporizing anything in its path and reducing it to nothingness. Behind the Scenes *Canon information on shared Quincy techniques were gathered from the Main Bleach Wiki site. All credit goes to them for that information.